Caleb hadn't actually met anyone that seemed to be as happy about his relationship being good for him as Ruth, normally he just got the good natured ribbing, or the comments of wondering when he was going to be putting a ring on her to make it official. Not that he hadn't already married Claire in his own way of course, but no one at the SGC actually knew that, names hadn't changed there had been no piece of paper that had needed to be signed.

So it was a surprise when someone was as nice about his relationship as what Ruth was being, he smiled at her softly, an actual true smile not the usual one he'd put on, “Thanks, never been a role model for that kind of thing before.”

It was true he wouldn't exactly say he had the makings to be a good role model, sure he was good with children when he was around them, could offer a friendly shoulder for friends to lean on and in his own way offer advice when advice needed to be given. But he had never thought of himself as role model before, he had always been too much the player, too much the womaniser to ever consider himself in that role.

He watched carefully as Ruth put the two pieces back together again with minimal difficulty, but then again the first part of putting a gun back together was always easy. Just two parts sliding into one, it was easy enough, it was as they'd move on that it would get a bit more complicated.

Caleb couldn't help smiling as she seemed to let out a small squeak at her own triumphant, “You did well, really well, you'll be as fast as me by the time we've finished putting this back together.” He said, taking the piece she had assembled and looking it over.

Ruth was a good study, she had actually listened to what he'd said and although there had been a small fumble, he'd resisted the urge to step in and show her again. He was impressed she had fitted the two parts together, he smiled up at her, he was all for praise when something was done correctly.

“Well that's the easy part, of course if you find it doesn't always slide together easy enough, just raise the end slightly,” he offered, he had picked out the easiest gun there was, one that had been worked enough times that no one would have trouble with it.

But if you got stuck somewhere, where the weapon you were using wasn't as well maintained then it was going to cause problems. Always.

“So next, you need to take the recoil spring and add it in, this might not be as easy this time,” he instructed, letting her take the items up.

It pleased Ruth to see Caleb so happy about her take on his relationship with Claire. It was always good to see when two people, who were so obviously right for one another, made things work, despite all the odds. Caleb's reputation as a player would have put most women off, so the fact that the two of them had managed eighteen months or so now spoke volumes.

"Don't go getting all big headed there, hon," chuckled Ruth. "I wouldn't say you've hit the role model stage yet. That comes after about... five years and a couple of rugrats running around, I think!" Still, it was good to see anyway, and it would certainly keep life interesting on the Beta site.

Ruth was inordinately pleased with herself at slotting the first two pieces together without much trouble, and blushed as she realised that that was the really, really easy part. "I'm sorry, I just... get excited sometimes," she admitted, casting her eyes down in embarrassment. It was one of her personality traits that seemed to get on peoples' nerves sometimes, and it had been something she had been trying to rein in.

Still, times like this were a reason to celebrate, and her eyes sparkled, even as Caleb told her to pick up a spring of some sort. She cast her eyes over the pieces arrayed in front of her, and pointed to the most likely candidate. "That," she asked, glancing up at her tutor. "And where does that go?" She could hazard a guess, but wouldn't like to mess things up.

Caleb laughed as Ruth told him not to get a big head, he wondered why women were always telling him that, he couldn't help it. It was the first time he had spoken of his relationship with Claire to someone and hadn't gotten the lewd the comments in return. Which is mostly what he got from some of the other blokes in his team, especially his team on Atlantis who had taken to not only ribbing him but Claire as well. It was just they tended to do it less with Claire because she had access to pointy objects.

“I'll try to refrain from getting too big headed. After all these doors are not that big,” he said, offering her a smile and a wink. It was nice to do some friendly flirting – as he called it – with someone, he hadn't really done such a thing since he got back from Atlantis.

It had all been rush there, rush here, someone's forgotten something now, and then someone had broken something. It was a bit like running a day centre for grown ups half the time and he wasn't the one running the show.

“We'll pass on the children,” he said, “Think there's enough of them on base, don't you?” and he was referring to a actual children either.

“Don't be sorry, nothing wrong with being pleased with yourself,” he said, picking up on her embarrassment. If he had been closer to Ruth he would have asked her about it, pointed it out that she didn't need to be embarrassed over them kind of things, but he kept the opinion to himself.

It was true nothing made a better marksman than someone who had confidence and conviction to pull that trigger. He himself had that conviction, he knew he would have made top marks, but he'd been more interested in taking the damn things apart to see how they worked than firing them.

He didn't like that Ruth got embarrassed over accomplishing something, he never understood people who would tread on someone's enthusiasm for whatever reason. Sure the military broke you down, but they also raised you back up with confidence to spare. He wasn't known to be a charmer for nothing, after all and some of that came from his training.

Caleb was amused when he saw the sparkle in her eyes, if there was one thing the SGC was full of, it was people with the thirst and drive to learn. The eagerness from half the staff never seemed to fade or get old, it was intoxicating to the person doing the teaching of that he was certain.

As Ruth pointed out the spring he wanted her to pick up, he nodded his head, she was on the right track, learning quickly. That was something else about the people on base, they learnt damn quickly.

“You need to add that to the barrel and slide part,” he said, gesturing to exactly what part of the gun he wanted her to put together.

He knew once they'd done that, the next few steps were going to be easy again, he also knew that she would hopefully go away with never forgetting this lesson and if anything happened to her off world, where a gun was needed she would be able to load it with ease. Once the gun was completely assembled they were going to move on to firing it, a part he knew she was going to ace, he had no doubts

"Wow, a blast door wouldn't be big enough to contain this ego when inflated," joked Ruth, no flirtiness there at all. "Duly noted, hon." In truth, Caleb didn't seem to have much of an ego at all. He seemed like a nice enough guy, and it was obvious he was completely in love with Claire Te Atua. It was sweet.

Ruth twitched an eyebrow upwards as Caleb said he'd pass on the kids. She knew Claire well enough to know that she doted on children, and would love one of her own. "See, that surprises me," admitted Ruth. "Figured you two were so loved up, it was just a matter of time. Guess I was wrong. Sorry if I put my foot in it." She blushed lightly. Putting her foot in things was a regular occurrence.

However, she clearly hadn't annoyed him too much, as he seemed pleased with her progress on learning to put the gun back together. She wasn't someone who had an affinity with the more mechanical side of things, so all the encouragement she was getting bolstered her confidence.

Pleased that she had identified the correct part next, Ruth frowned as she concentrated, trying to figure out how the spring fitted into the barrel and slide. In the end, there was only one way it could realistically be done, and, despite taking her time, she slotted it home. She looked more serious this time, nodding in satisfaction as she checked her work, before glancing back to Caleb.

"That okay," she asked, before turning her eyes back to the array of pieces on the table. "What's next?"

“Well lets not inflate the ego then,” he replied smiling at her, “I'd hate for people to get jealous.”

He knew he didn't have an ego as such, sure he was good at his job, he knew what he was doing, had the skills behind him to know what he was doing and wasn't overly worried about offering an opinion if it was the right time. But it was his reputation that preceded him, more than any ego ever would.

Caleb rubbed at the back of his head as Ruth mentioned the children thing, it was something he had spoken with to Claire, they had discussed it in that abstract way of there's and he knew there were things he didn't think about because of what she had told him. So when ever people normally asked about them having children, he told them no, he wouldn't open up about what him and Claire had discussed.

He wouldn't let anyone know what Claire had told him, besides people might be speaking of him being in a committed relationship (half the time they were still shocked) when they mentioned children it was in that joking way, a way that he didn't put right, because half the people that spoke about him being a parent weren't always the most confident building comments one would hope to hear.

“You didn't put your foot in it,” reassured Caleb, he didn't want her going away thinking she had upset him. He offered up a shrug, “We like being us,” there he didn't think that was breaking any confidence he had. If Ruth wanted to know more, then she could definitely ask Claire about it, at least then that way if Claire wanted to tell Ruth she'd tell her and he wouldn't have to.

He turned his focus back to teaching her to put the gun together, he was watching her carefully, it wasn't exactly the hardest thing to actually teach someone to do. At the end of the day there was only one way a gun could go back together, if you put something in the wrong way or back to front you just wouldn't be able to move on to the next step.

So as the pieces slid into place for her, hearing the click as they actually went together – it was the one thing he tended to listen out for more than watching what he was doing nowadays – he couldn't help smiling proudly at her. It was actually quite a nice feeling to know that someone was learning something from him, he wasn't always given opportunities to teach someone , especially about something that he did so often.

There were only a couple of pieces left to assemble now, now that the barrel was put back together it was going to have to be fitted back to the gun it's self, once they were done he would take her over to the shooting area and let her take the actual part of the test. It had been nice talking to her as he had done, he hadn't ever really had chance to speak to Ruth that much, it had always been in passing, a hello there as they passed each other in the corridors, maybe the odd interaction when they'd been off world, which to be honest was far less than he had ever thought.

But then again he knew that not everyone actually liked stepping through the Stargate that often, he himself was like a junkie when it came to Gate travel, he always wanted to be stepping through it, see where it was going to lead him next.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, to the job at hand, he said, “So you've put the barrel back together, we're heading the right direction with this. You realise next time we go off world together I expect you to be able to do this in your sleep,” he joked, smiling at her.

Caleb knew that although she'd probably remember this lesson, whether she'd actually keep up with it was another matter, but he didn't mind, he liked making sure that people knew these steps. If for whatever reason they got stuck and had to put the gun back together or anything like that, he felt better knowing people had at least a little knowledge on doing this. Hopefully it'd save a life at some point.

“Okay so next thing to do is attach everything you've put together back to the gun its self,” he said, indicating the rest of the gun to the side, “Again it's not loaded, so you don't have to worry about accidentally firing it.”

Not that she would, but he had, had a incident where when someone was putting one back together they had gripped it a certain way and had pulled the trigger. It had not been loaded at the time, but the person had panicked slightly, it had taken him over half an hour to calm said person down, make them realise mistakes happened and that was why he kept all guns unloaded when he was teaching this.

Ruth just rolled her eyes. "See? I'm creating a monster already," she teased. "Just how does Claire put up with you?" She knew exactly why Claire put up with Caleb, and that was love, pure and simple. It was obvious in the way they looked at one another, the way they spoke about one another. Caleb Williams, womaniser supreme, had been tamed by an unassuming Kiwi doctor. You couldn't make it up.

She didn't miss Caleb's discomfort, though, as she mentioned children. It made her wonder precisely what made him so uncomfortable, but it was none of her business. She wouldn't probe, and certainly wouldn't ask Claire anything. If it was something they wanted to be public knowledge, then, just like when they had made their relationship known, they would do so. "Being happy being you is great," she remarked, quietly closing off that topic of conversation.

Her mind returned to the task at hand, and she focused on the gun, even as Caleb made another joke. "That'll be pushing it a bit, hon," she grinned, examining her handiwork so far. The equipment was alien to her, at least when it was in pieces, but it would be better if she knew how to disassemble and reassemble it, if not much else. "And what makes you so sure we'll be going offworld together anytime soon?" She'd heard rumours about Claire and Caleb being assigned to the Beta Site, but they were just rumours, like most of the other postings she'd heard about.

Ruth nodded as Caleb explained the final steps for the reassembly of the gun, and, taking care - not exactly going quickly, but more concerned about getting it right first time - she slotted the indicated pieces home, cocking her head at Caleb. "Is that right?" She looked a little hopeful as she held what looked like an assembled gun.

“You'd have to ask her that, because I have no idea,” he joked back, he still asked himself that question to this day. Despite what the pair of them had been through and how they had gotten together, he still wondered occasionally how Claire put up with him, especially considering he still ended up flirting with any one that crossed his path.

He was kind of glad when the subject of the children seemed to slip past them, he didn't want to share that aspect of his relationship with anyone. It was between him and Claire, that wasn't to say he didn't enjoy sharing other parts, the parts that he knew everyone pretty much already knew, he didn't embellishing them. After all it was kind of expected of him really, another side of his reputation, people wanted to know all the details, in fact he didn't even share them kind of details when he hadn't been with Claire. Well maybe he had shared some with Claire before they had gotten together, but that was mainly because she'd caught him drunk one time or another and he had overshared.

Caleb nodded his head in response to Ruth's comment about being happy just being them, sometimes he forgot that people could be happy without whatever society told them they should have. Surely with both his and Claire's ages they should have set up home, had a couple of children and a dog by now, but well they weren't exactly in conventional jobs and he really didn't want a conventional life.

As the conversation turned lighter once more, he put on a hurt look as Ruth commented about the going off world, “Dr Tolliver you wound me, why wouldn't you want to go off world with me? I mean I know there is a waiting list as long as the corridor leading to gate room, but I'd make sure you were at the top of list if you wanted?”

He actually enjoyed going off world with different people on base, sure there was times when an all military group was probably needed more, but going off world with the civilians, that was something altogether different. It gave him a different perspective on where they went, the civilians weren't always as reserved as most of the military and tended not to hold back in their opinions. It was always more fun to go with them than the military sometimes, half his team back on Atlantis were civilians than military and they always had a good time when they good.

Caleb watched as Ruth manoeuvred the pieces of the gun back together, he watched carefully as she slowly slid the pieces home. He felt a sense of pride as the last piece was slotted back into place and they once again had a fully assembled gun, he knew most normal people didn't get excited at the prospect of having a full functioning gun again, but well he wasn't exactly normal people. He did manage to stop himself from giving Ruth around of applause as she looked up at him expectantly.

He smiled brightly at her, “That is it,” he said, he felt quite good that he had managed to teach at least someone how to do that. Not only that but it had been such a long time since he had taught someone, he was tempted to give the red head a hug, but considering she was still holding the gun, even without bullets in it, he wasn't going to attempt it.

“You picked that up quicker than most folks on base,” he praised, still smiling at her, “Of course am sure you know which part comes next right?”

Of course, Ruth had no intention of asking Claire. She didn't need to. She could tell that Caleb loved his partner as much as Claire clearly adored him, and the ins and outs of their relationship were nobody's business but their own. it was just good to see a couple so damn happy. If she could be half as happy in her own relationship, she'd definitely consider it a success.

She laughed as Caleb took mock offence at her comment about going offworld together. "Well, hon, unless you're assigned to the Beta Site team, it'll be a long while yet, especially if you're heading back to Atlantis," she remarked. She couldn't recall having been offworld with Caleb before, but it wouldn't be a hardship if he and Claire were on the Beta site as well. At least there would be a couple of people she classed as friends there.

The gun felt right as she slotted the final pieces together, aside from the weight of the clip, and Ruth turned it over in her hands for a few seconds, getting used to its heft, feeling its balance. She wasn't a fan of firearms, but had passed all her proficiency tests with flying colours, although she wasn't what anyone would class as a crack shot. Fortunately, she had never had the need to be tested in the field, at least not yet. With being assigned to the Beta site for a long stint, though, that might change.

Ruth grinned back as Caleb congratulated her, and praised her workmanship, and she nodded. "Thanks, hon," she replied, before nodding to the clip on the table. "I guess filling that and slotting it in comes next, right?"

Caleb just smiled at Ruth, “Am sure no doubt I'll be around for the Beta site expedition, I mean after all they do need some experts going out there right,” he said, still joking with her.

He didn't actually know if he was going to be asked to go to the Beta site before heading back to Atlantis, part of him wanted to jump on the next ship back to Atlantis, he missed the place a lot, it had become his home. But if he was to be shipped to the Beta site for a bit, well he wasn't going to grumble to much, orders were orders after all, besides it would be interesting to see the base that would supposedly become a second Earth if anything happened to this one.

Of course that thought just made him cold, he hated how they had discovered such an amazing thing as the Stargate only to have aliens trying to enslave them or sucking your life from you, how did they manage to end up in these kind of scrapes? It wasn't like they had gone out of their way to annoy every alien out there, well he didn't intentionally go and do that at least.

Caleb nodded his head as Ruth answered his question, “See knew you'd be a quick study, that's probably easiest part of this whole thing,” he said. Filling and slotting the magazine back into the gun was the easiest part, in fact people who didn't even the standard operating procedures for a gun knew how to do that, it was something people could very easily search for at the end of the day.

He pulled out the box of ammo, that he had stashed away till this moment, he didn't want to have gotten ahead of himself so had checked that all the ammo was accounted for before he'd dissembled the weapon. All the ammo in the box would fit back in the gun, they he could put her through the normal firearms test and they'd be done, he was feeling quite pleased at their progress. It wasn't every day he got to do this, and he felt like he had gotten to know Ruth a bit better in the process, if they did end up of world together at least he knew that if she had cause to pull her weapon she'd know how to use it properly.

“Am sure you know what bit goes in where for the next bit, once you've done that, we can actually do the test and then you can go back to what you were doing before,” he said, smiling at her, “Am sure spending a whole day with the gun wasn't what you had in mind?” Not that they had been there a whole day, just nearing an hour now, she had been a quicker study than what he had anticipated that was for sure.

Ruth nodded. "Does that mean that Claire's going with you," she asked. If the couple had both been military, the prospect would be unlikely, but, seeing as Claire was civilian, it wasn't as complicated. "I'm apparently going to be the linguistics department for the duration." She was taking over from Pete Foster, who was a capable enough linguist, but not someone she would have sent on his own to be the sole linguist on a major project like the Beta site.

She smiled as Caleb praised her on being a quick study, and she shrugged a little. "Thanks, hon," she replied, her voice sincere. "I'm not exactly the best at the more practical tasks, but I'm always willing to get better." More through necessity than through choice, but still. Anything she could do to improve her skill set, she was happy.

The clip was definitely the easiest part, and Ruth plucked the box of ammo from Caleb, deftly loading the magazine and slotting it home with the familiar "thunk". Now the gun felt more familiar, more balanced, more what she was used to.

"There you go," she said, feeling a little proud of herself, even as she checked that the safety was on, and passed the gun, grip first, to Caleb. "You might want to check the handiwork before you let me loose with it, though, wouldn't want anything falling apart, would we?" While she was confident that it was put back together properly, and was, to all intents and purposes, a fully functioning gun, Ruth wouldn't be happy until it had passed its final inspection.